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González-Roz A, Belisario K, Secades-Villa R, Muñiz J, MacKillop J. Behavioral economic analysis of legal and illegal cannabis demand in Spanish young adults with hazardous and non-hazardous cannabis use. Addict Behav 2024; 149:107878. [PMID: 37924581 DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In October 2021, a legal framework that regulates cannabis for recreational purposes in Spain was proposed, but research on its potential impacts on cannabis use is currently limited. This study examined the reliability and discriminant validity of two Marijuana Purchase Tasks (MPTs) for measuring hypothetical legal and illegal cannabis demand, and to examine differences in demand of both commodities in young adults at hazardous vs. non-hazardous cannabis use risk levels. METHODS A total of 171 Spanish young adults [Mage = 19.82 (SD = 1.81)] with past-month cannabis use participated in a cross-sectional study from September to November 2021. Two 27-item MPTs were used to estimate hypothetical demand for legal and illegal cannabis independently. The Cannabis Use Disorder Identification Test (CUDIT-R) was used to assess hazardous cannabis use and test for discriminant validity of the MPTs. Reliability analyses were conducted using Classical Test Theory (Cronbach's alpha) and Item Response Theory (Item Information Functions). RESULTS The MPT was reliable for measuring legal (α = 0.94) and illegal (α = 0.90) cannabis demand. Breakpoint (price at which demand ceases), and Pmax (price associated with maximum expenditure) were the most sensitive indicators to discriminate participants with different levels of the cannabis reinforcing trait. No significant differences between legal and illegal cannabis demand in the whole sample were observed, but hazardous vs. non-hazardous users showed higher legal and illegal demand, and decreased Breakpoint and Pmax if cannabis were legal vs illegal. CONCLUSION The MPT exhibits robust psychometric validity and may be useful to inform on cannabis regulatory science in Spain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alba González-Roz
- Addictive Behaviors Research Group (GCA), Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Oviedo 33003, Spain.
| | - Kyla Belisario
- Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, St Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton and McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L9C 0E3, Canada
| | - Roberto Secades-Villa
- Addictive Behaviors Research Group (GCA), Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Oviedo 33003, Spain
| | - José Muñiz
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Nebrija, Madrid 28015, Spain
| | - James MacKillop
- Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, St Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton and McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L9C 0E3, Canada
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Tomlinson DC, Freitas-Lemos R, Tegge AN, Yeh YH, Dwyer CL, Stein JS, Bickel WK. Presentation matters: Effects of cigarette purchase task design on systematic data and purchasing behavior. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 2023; 31:1017-1022. [PMID: 36877478 PMCID: PMC10480337 DOI: 10.1037/pha0000643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/07/2023]
Abstract
Hypothetical purchase tasks (HPTs) are effective tools for evaluating participants' demand for substances. The present study evaluated the effect of task presentation on producing unsystematic data and purchasing behavior in a sample of individuals who smoke cigarettes. Participants (n = 365) were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk and randomly assigned to complete two of three HPT presentations: List (prices on one page in an increasing order), Ascending (one price per page in an increasing order), or Random (one price per page in a random order). We evaluated outcomes using a mixed model regression with a random effect for participants. We observed a significant effect of task presentation on passing the criterion assessing consistency in effects of contiguous prices (i.e., Bounce; X²(2) = 13.31, p = .001). A significant effect of task presentation on Trend or Reversals from Zero was not observed. For purchasing behavior, we observed a significant effect of task presentation on R², X²(2) = 17.89, p < .001; BP₁, X²(2) = 13.64, p = .001; ln(α), X²(2) = 332.94, p < .001; and ln(Omax), X²(2) = 20.26, p < .001; we did not observe a significant effect of task presentation on ln(Q₀) or ln(Pmax). We recommend against using the Random HPT presentation to avoid unsystematic data. While the List and Ascending presentations do not differ across unsystematic criteria or purchasing behavior, the List presentation may be preferred due to participant experience. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Devin C. Tomlinson
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, VA, USA
- Graduate Program in Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | | | - Allison N. Tegge
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, VA, USA
- Department of Statistics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Yu-Hua Yeh
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, VA, USA
| | - Candice L. Dwyer
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, VA, USA
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Jeffrey S. Stein
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, VA, USA
| | - Warren K. Bickel
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, VA, USA
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3
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Freitas-Lemos R, Tegge AN, Tomlinson DC, Yeh YH, Stein JS, Michael Cummings K, Fong GT, Shields PG, Hatsukami DK, Bickel WK. Illegal product purchasing in the experimental tobacco marketplace: Effects of menthol cigarette and cigarette ventilation ban. Drug Alcohol Depend 2023; 253:111015. [PMID: 37951005 PMCID: PMC10885639 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2023.111015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/13/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Tobacco regulations may increase demand for illegal cigarettes. We use the Experimental Tobacco Marketplace to estimate the impact of banning menthol cigarettes (Experiment 1) and decreasing allowable cigarette filter ventilation levels (Experiment 2). METHODS Crowdsourced participants were randomized into one of four groups (2×2 factorial design). Experiment 1 included menthol availability (yes/no) by purchasing option (legal only vs illegal available). Experiment 2 included filter-vented cigarettes availability (yes/no) by purchasing option (legal only vs illegal available). Participants were given an individualized budget to purchase tobacco. Percent budget spent was the outcome measure. RESULTS Experiment 1, with a legal marketplace only, non-menthol cigarette purchasing was lower (p=0.010) and electronic-cigarette purchasing was higher (p=0.016), when cigarettes were banned compared to when they were available. With an illegal marketplace, switching to legal non-menthol cigarettes was less likely (p<0.001) and purchasing illegal menthol cigarettes was higher (p<0.001), when cigarettes were banned compared to when they were available. Experiment 2, with a legal marketplace only, cigarette purchasing was lower (p=0.010), when the participant's filtered vented cigarettes were banned compared to when they were available. With an illegal marketplace, purchasing the legal low-ventilated cigarette option was lower (p<0.001) and significant differences in illegal filter-vented cigarette purchasing were not observed, when their filter-vented cigarettes were banned compared to when they were available legally. CONCLUSIONS Without an illegal option, both restrictions decreased cigarette purchasing, but the menthol ban increased e-cigarette purchasing. With an illegal option, a menthol ban increased illegal cigarette purchasing, but decreasing filter ventilation did not.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Allison N Tegge
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, VA, USA; Department of Statistics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Devin C Tomlinson
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, VA, USA; Graduate Program in Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Yu-Hua Yeh
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, VA, USA
| | - Jeffrey S Stein
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, VA, USA
| | - K Michael Cummings
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Geoffrey T Fong
- Department of Psychology and School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada; Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Peter G Shields
- Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University and James Cancer Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Dorothy K Hatsukami
- Masonic Cancer Center and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Warren K Bickel
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, VA, USA.
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Miller BP, Reed DD, Amlung M. Reliability and validity of behavioral-economic measures: A review and synthesis of discounting and demand. J Exp Anal Behav 2023; 120:263-280. [PMID: 37248719 PMCID: PMC10524652 DOI: 10.1002/jeab.860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 04/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
This review sought to synthesize the literature on the reliability and validity of behavioral-economic measures of demand and discounting in human research, introduce behavioral-economic research methodologies for studying addictive behaviors, discuss gaps in the current literature, and review areas for future research. A total of 34 studies was included in this review. The discounting literature showed similar responding regardless of whether hypothetical or actual outcomes were used, though people tended to discount the outcome presented first more steeply, suggesting order effects. Although delay-discounting measures seem to show temporal stability, exceptions were found for probability- and experiential-discounting tasks. The demand literature also demonstrated similar responding regardless of outcome type; however, some demand indices showed exceptions. Randomized price sequences tended to show modest increases in Omax and α and modestly higher rates of inconsistent or nonsystematic responses compared with sequential price sequences. Demand indices generally showed temporal stability, although the stability was weaker the larger the time interval between test sessions. Future studies would benefit by examining addictive commodities beyond alcohol, nicotine, and money; examining temporal stability over longer time intervals; using larger delays in discounting tasks; and using larger sample sizes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon P Miller
- Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - Derek D Reed
- Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - Michael Amlung
- Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
- Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
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Dolan SB, Bradley MK, Johnson MW. E-cigarette Price Impacts legal and Black-Market Cigarette Purchasing Under a Hypothetical Reduced-Nicotine Cigarette Standard. Nicotine Tob Res 2023; 25:1556-1564. [PMID: 37195268 PMCID: PMC10439485 DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntad067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 01/29/2023] [Accepted: 05/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The Tobacco Control Act gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority to establish a reduced-nicotine content standard in combusted cigarettes. This future potential regulation may pose a significant public health benefit; however, black markets may arise to meet demand for normal-nicotine content cigarettes among smokers unwilling to transition to or use an alternative product. AIMS AND METHODS We determined the behavioral-economic substitutability of illicit normal-nicotine content cigarettes and e-cigarettes for reduced-nicotine content cigarettes in a hypothetical reduced-nicotine regulatory market. Adult cigarette smokers were recruited online to complete hypothetical cigarette purchasing tasks for usual-brand cigarettes, reduced-nicotine content cigarettes, and illicit normal-nicotine content cigarettes, as well as a cross-commodity task in which reduced-nicotine content cigarettes were available across multiple prices and illicit cigarettes were concurrently available for $12/pack. Participants completed two three-item cross-commodity purchasing tasks in which e-cigarettes were available for $4/pod or $12/pod alongside reduced-nicotine content cigarettes and illicit cigarettes. RESULTS Usual-brand cigarette purchasing was greater than illicit normal-nicotine content cigarettes and less than reduced-nicotine content cigarettes. In the cross-commodity purchasing tasks, illicit cigarettes and e-cigarettes both served as economic substitutes for reduced-nicotine content cigarettes; however, when e-cigarettes were available for $4/pod, they were purchased at greater levels than illicit cigarettes and resulted in greater reductions in reduced-nicotine content cigarettes purchasing than when available for $12/pod. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that some smokers are willing to engage in illicit cigarette purchasing in a reduced-nicotine regulatory environment, but e-cigarette availability at lower prices may reduce black-market engagement and shift behavior away from combusted cigarette use. IMPLICATIONS E-cigarettes available at low, but not high, prices were stronger substitutes for legal, reduced-nicotine content cigarettes than illegal, normal-nicotine content cigarettes in a hypothetical reduced-nicotine tobacco market. Our findings suggest the availability of relatively inexpensive e-cigarettes may reduce illicit cigarette purchasing and combusted cigarette use under a reduced-nicotine cigarette standard.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean B Dolan
- The Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Melissa K Bradley
- The Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Matthew W Johnson
- The Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Yip SW, Barch DM, Chase HW, Flagel S, Huys QJ, Konova AB, Montague R, Paulus M. From Computation to Clinic. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY GLOBAL OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 3:319-328. [PMID: 37519475 PMCID: PMC10382698 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2022.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Revised: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Theory-driven and data-driven computational approaches to psychiatry have enormous potential for elucidating mechanism of disease and providing translational linkages between basic science findings and the clinic. These approaches have already demonstrated utility in providing clinically relevant understanding, primarily via back translation from clinic to computation, revealing how specific disorders or symptoms map onto specific computational processes. Nonetheless, forward translation, from computation to clinic, remains rare. In addition, consensus regarding specific barriers to forward translation-and on the best strategies to overcome these barriers-is limited. This perspective review brings together expert basic and computationally trained researchers and clinicians to 1) identify challenges specific to preclinical model systems and clinical translation of computational models of cognition and affect, and 2) discuss practical approaches to overcoming these challenges. In doing so, we highlight recent evidence for the ability of computational approaches to predict treatment responses in psychiatric disorders and discuss considerations for maximizing the clinical relevance of such models (e.g., via longitudinal testing) and the likelihood of stakeholder adoption (e.g., via cost-effectiveness analyses).
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah W. Yip
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Deanna M. Barch
- Departments of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Psychiatry, and Radiology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Henry W. Chase
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Shelly Flagel
- Department of Psychiatry and Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Quentin J.M. Huys
- Division of Psychiatry and Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
| | - Anna B. Konova
- Department of Psychiatry and Brain Health Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey
| | - Read Montague
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and Department of Physics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia
| | - Martin Paulus
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, Oklahoma
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7
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González-Roz A, Martínez-Loredo V, Aston ER, Metrik J, Murphy J, Balodis I, Secades-Villa R, Belisario K, MacKillop J. Concurrent validity of the marijuana purchase task: a meta-analysis of trait-level cannabis demand and cannabis involvement. Addiction 2023; 118:620-633. [PMID: 36305652 PMCID: PMC10020890 DOI: 10.1111/add.16075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS The Marijuana Purchase Task (MPT) is increasingly used to measure cannabis reinforcing value and has potential use for cannabis etiological and regulatory research. This meta-analysis sought to evaluate for the first time the MPT's concurrent validity in relation to cannabis involvement. METHODS Electronic databases and pre-print repositories were searched for MPT studies that examined the cross-sectional relationship between frequency and quantity of cannabis use, problems, dependence, and five MPT indicators: intensity (i.e. unrestricted consumption), Omax (i.e. maximum consumption), Pmax (i.e. price at which demand becomes elastic), breakpoint (i.e. first price at which consumption ceases), and elasticity (i.e. sensitivity to rising costs). Random effects meta-analyses of cross-sectional effect sizes were conducted, with Q tests for examining differences by cannabis variables, meta-regression to test quantitative moderators, and publication bias assessment. Moderators included sex, number of MPT prices, variable transformations, and year of publication. Populations included community and clinical samples. RESULTS The searches yielded 14 studies (n = 4077, median % females: 44.8%: weighted average age = 29.08 [SD = 6.82]), published between 2015 and 2022. Intensity, Omax , and elasticity showed the most robust concurrent validity (|r's| = 0.147-325, ps < 0.014) with the largest significant effect sizes for quantity (|r| intensity = 0.325) and cannabis dependence (|r| Omax = 0.320, |r| intensity = 0.305, |r| elasticity = 0.303). Higher proportion of males was associated with increased estimates for elasticity-quantity and Pmax -problems. Higher number of MPT prices significantly altered magnitude of effects sizes for Pmax and problems, suggesting biased estimations if excessively low prices are considered. Methodological quality was generally good, and minimal evidence of publication bias was observed. CONCLUSIONS The marijuana purchase task presents adequate concurrent validity to measure cannabis demand, most robustly for intensity, Omax , and elasticity. Moderating effects by sex suggest potentially meaningful sex differences in the reinforcing value of cannabis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alba González-Roz
- Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, St Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Addictive Behaviors Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
| | | | - Elizabeth R Aston
- Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Jane Metrik
- Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, USA
- Providence VA Medical Center, Providence, RI, USA
| | - James Murphy
- Department of Psychology, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Iris Balodis
- Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, St Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Roberto Secades-Villa
- Addictive Behaviors Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
| | - Kyla Belisario
- Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, St Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - James MacKillop
- Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, St Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, ON, Canada
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8
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Gilroy SP. Interpretation(s) of essential value in operant demand. J Exp Anal Behav 2023; 119:554-564. [PMID: 36976960 DOI: 10.1002/jeab.845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023]
Abstract
The operant demand framework has achieved high levels of adoption as an approach to quantify how various ecological factors influence choice. A central goal of the framework proposed by Hursh and Silberburg (2008) was to isolate the "essential value" of reinforcers-namely, their effects on behavior given various contextual factors. The effect of reinforcers on behavior is a phenomenon that is expected to vary as a function of reinforcer magnitude/dosage (i.e., units of reinforcement), price (i.e., schedule requirements), the intensity of demand (i.e., consumption in free operant conditions), the availability of reinforcers (i.e., supply, presence of alternatives), and the individual's current and historical context. This technical report provides a historical summary of the concept, describes the quantitative basis for essential value in the framework of Hursh and Silberburg (2008), reviews prior attempts to extract a generalizable index of essential value, and presents a newer formulation using exact solution that provides a more succinct and durable index. Proofs and solutions are provided to clarify the bases for novel and existing representations of essential value. Recommendations are provided to improve the precision and accuracy of behavioral economic metrics as well as support consensus regarding their interpretation in the operant demand framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawn P Gilroy
- Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, United States
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Jarmolowicz DP, Schneider TD, Strickland JC, Bruce AS, Reed DD, Bruce JM. Reinforcer pathology, probabilistic choice, and medication adherence in patients with multiple sclerosis. J Exp Anal Behav 2023; 119:275-285. [PMID: 36710645 DOI: 10.1002/jeab.830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Revised: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 12/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
The reinforcer pathology model posits that core behavioral economic mechanisms, including delay discounting and behavioral economic demand, underlie adverse health decisions and related clinical disorders. Extensions beyond substance use disorder and obesity, however, are limited. Using a reinforcer pathology framework, this study evaluates medical adherence decisions in patients with multiple sclerosis. Participants completed behavioral economic measures, including delay discounting, probability discounting, and a medication purchase task. A medical decision-making task was also used to evaluate how sensitivity to mild side effect risk and efficacy contributed to the likelihood of taking a hypothetical disease-modifying therapy. Less steep delay discounting and more intense (greater) medication demand were independently associated with greater adherence to the medication decision-making procedure. More generally, the pattern of interrelations between the medication-specific and general behavioral economic metrics was consistent with and contributes to the reinforcer pathology model. Additional research is warranted to expand these models to different populations and health behaviors, including those of a positive health orientation (i.e., medication adherence).
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Affiliation(s)
- David P Jarmolowicz
- Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
- Cofrin-Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
- Healthcare Institute for Innovations in Quality, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA
| | - Tadd D Schneider
- Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
- Cofrin-Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - Justin C Strickland
- Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Amanda S Bruce
- Center for Children's Healthy Lifestyles and Nutrition, Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA
| | - Derek D Reed
- Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
- Cofrin-Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - Jared M Bruce
- Department(s) of Biomedical and Health Informatics, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, USA
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Skrzynski CJ, Napolitan A, Hitchcock L, Minhas M, Mackillop J, Bryan AD, Bidwell LC. Cannabis Involvement and Demand in Frequent Concentrate Users Versus Predominantly Flower Users. J Stud Alcohol Drugs 2023; 84:214-221. [PMID: 36971716 PMCID: PMC10171257 DOI: 10.15288/jsad.22-00066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Cannabis concentrate products contain more of the intoxicating cannabinoid, tetrahydrocannabinol, than flower products and, thus, may produce greater harm. Indeed, concentrate use is associated with greater cannabis dependence and problems (e.g., anxiety) than flower use. Given this, continued examination of concentrate versus flower use differences on associations with various cannabis measures may be useful. These measures include behavioral economic demand for cannabis (i.e., its subjective reinforcing value), use frequency, and dependence. METHOD In the present study of 480 cannabis users, those who were frequent concentrate users (n = 176) were compared with predominantly flower users (n = 304) regarding the relationship of two latent drug demand metrics assessed by the Marijuana Purchase Task to cannabis use frequency (i.e., days of cannabis use) and cannabis dependence (i.e., Marijuana Dependence Scale scores). RESULTS Two previously observed latent factors emerged, based on confirmatory factor analysis: amplitude, reflecting maximum consumption, and persistence, reflecting cost insensitivity. Group comparisons showed that amplitude was greater among the concentrate versus flower group, but no difference was found for persistence. Further, using structural path invariance testing, the factors were differentially associated with cannabis use frequency across groups. Amplitude was positively associated with frequency for both groups, whereas persistence was negatively associated with frequency for the flower group. Neither factor was associated with dependence for either group. CONCLUSIONS Findings continue to indicate that the demand metrics, although distinct, can be parsimoniously condensed into two factors. In addition, method of administration (i.e., concentrate vs. flower use) may affect how demand for cannabis relates to frequency of use. Associations were notably stronger with frequency relative to dependence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carillon J. Skrzynski
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado
| | - Alexander Napolitan
- Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado
| | - Leah Hitchcock
- Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado
| | - Meenu Minhas
- Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University & St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - James Mackillop
- Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University & St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Angela D. Bryan
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado
| | - L. Cinnamon Bidwell
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado
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11
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García-Pérez Á, García-Fernández G, Krotter A, González-Roz A, Martínez-Loredo V, Secades-Villa R. Validation of the Food Purchase Task (FPT) in a clinical sample of smokers with overweight and obesity. Appetite 2023; 185:106549. [PMID: 37004940 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2023.106549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/25/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Abstract
Obesity is a major health problem associated with disease burden and mortality. In this context, analyzing food as a powerful reinforcer from a behavioral economics framework could be relevant for the treatment and prevention of obesity. The purposes of this study were to validate a food purchase task (FPT) in a clinical sample of Spanish smokers with overweight and obesity and to assess the internal structure of the FPT. We also analyzed the clinical utility of single-item breakpoint (i.e., commodity price that suppresses demand). A total of 120 smokers [% females: 54.2; Mage = 52.54; SD = 10.34] with overweight and obesity completed the FPT and weight/eating-related variables. Principal component analysis was used to examine the FPT structure, and a set of correlations were used to examine the relationship between the FPT, eating and weight-related variables. The FPT demonstrated robust convergent validity with other measures of eating. Higher food demand was related to higher food craving (r = .33), more binge eating problems (r = 0.39), more weight gain concerns (r = 0.35), higher frequency of both controlled (r = 0.37) and uncontrolled (r = 0.30) grazing, as well as to an eating style in response to emotions (r = 0.34) and external eating (r = 0.34). Of the demand indices, Intensity and Omax showed the highest magnitudes of effects. The FPT factors, persistence and amplitude, do not improve individual FPT indices; and the single-item breakpoint was not related to any eating or weight variable. The FPT is a valid measure of food reinforcement with potential clinical utility in smokers with obesity/overweight.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ángel García-Pérez
- Department of Psychology. Addictive Behaviors Research Group. University of Oviedo, Plaza Feijoo, s/n, 33003, Oviedo, Spain; Department of Psychology, Sociology and Philosophy. University of Leon, Facultad de Educación, Campus de Vegazana, s/n, 24071, Leon, Spain.
| | - Gloria García-Fernández
- Department of Psychology. Addictive Behaviors Research Group. University of Oviedo, Plaza Feijoo, s/n, 33003, Oviedo, Spain
| | - Andrea Krotter
- Department of Psychology. Addictive Behaviors Research Group. University of Oviedo, Plaza Feijoo, s/n, 33003, Oviedo, Spain
| | - Alba González-Roz
- Department of Psychology. Addictive Behaviors Research Group. University of Oviedo, Plaza Feijoo, s/n, 33003, Oviedo, Spain
| | - Víctor Martínez-Loredo
- Department of Psychology. Addictive Behaviors Research Group. University of Oviedo, Plaza Feijoo, s/n, 33003, Oviedo, Spain; Department of Psychology and Sociology. University of Zaragoza, C/ Ciudad escolar s/n, 44003, Teruel, Spain
| | - Roberto Secades-Villa
- Department of Psychology. Addictive Behaviors Research Group. University of Oviedo, Plaza Feijoo, s/n, 33003, Oviedo, Spain
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12
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Lorensia A, Suryadinata RV. Profil of omega-3 food intake and its association with socioeconomic status in smoker on online motorcycle drivers. HEALTHCARE IN LOW-RESOURCE SETTINGS 2023. [DOI: 10.4081/hls.2023.11164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Omega-3 fatty acids were found to be effective in reducing inflammation and free radicals caused by air pollution (cigarette smoke), as well as improving lung function. Furthermore, economic conditions can influence a person's food consumption habits. The type of food consumed will certainly affect the amount of omega-3 absorbed by the body, and the quality of food consumed is influenced by socioeconomic status (SES). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine omega-3 intake and its relationship with the socioeconomic status of online motorcycle drivers.
Design and Methods: This was an observational study with a cross-sectional method of measuring omega-3 consumption using a 24-hour food recall questionnaire and assessing the mean of omega-3 intake after 3 days. The was conducted from May-August 2020, in Kali Rungkut, Surabaya City, and the subjects were online motorcycle drivers. A Chi-square test was used to assess the relationship between omega-3 intake and SES (income and education).
Results: There were 49 respondents in this study with most of them having a classification of omega-3 intake at the deficit level (57.14%), and none belonging to the good and more level. There was a significant difference in omega-3 intake on income (p=0.000) and education (p=0.000).
Conclusions: Income and education must be prioritized to improve a healthy diet that includes omega-3.
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13
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Order Matters: Breaking Cognitive Lock-In through Occasional Preferential Use of a Rival App. INFORMATION & MANAGEMENT 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.im.2023.103769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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14
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Ray LA, Nieto SJ, Grodin EN. Translational models of addiction phenotypes to advance addiction pharmacotherapy. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2023; 1519:118-128. [PMID: 36385614 PMCID: PMC10823887 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Alcohol and substance use disorders are heterogeneous conditions with limited effective treatment options. While there have been prior attempts to classify addiction subtypes, they have not been translated into clinical practice. In an effort to better understand heterogeneity in psychiatric disorders, the National Institute for Mental Health Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) has challenged scientists to think beyond diagnostic symptoms and to consider the underlying features of psychopathology from a neuroscience-based framework. The field of addiction has grappled with this approach by considering several key constructs with the potential to capture RDoC domains. This critical review will focus on the efforts to apply translational models of addiction phenomenology in human clinical samples, including their relative strengths and weaknesses. Opportunities for forward and reverse translation are also discussed. Deep behavioral phenotyping using neuroscience-informed batteries shows promise for a better understanding of the clinical neuroscience of addiction and advancing precision medicine for alcohol and substance use disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara A. Ray
- Department of Psychology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Shirley & Stefan Hatos Center for Neuropharmacology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Jane & Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Steven J. Nieto
- Department of Psychology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Erica N. Grodin
- Department of Psychology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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15
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Rzeszutek MJ, Kaplan BA, Traxler HK, Franck CT, Koffarnus MN. Hyperbolic discounting and exponentiated demand: Modeling demand for cigarettes in three dimensions. J Exp Anal Behav 2023; 119:169-191. [PMID: 36562640 PMCID: PMC9872831 DOI: 10.1002/jeab.818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Behavioral economics has been a fruitful area of research in substance use. Mathematical descriptions of how individuals temporally discount the value of a commodity have been correlated with substance use and mathematical descriptions of drug consumption decreasing as a function of price (i.e., demand) predict maladaptive substance use. While there is a logical assumption that temporal factors affect demand for a drug, little has been done to merge these models. Thus, the purpose of this study was to combine models of discounting and demand, extending Howard Rachlin's work and contributions to novel areas of study. Data from 85 participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) who completed a hypothetical cigarette purchase task that included price of and delay to cigarettes were analyzed. Multilevel modeling was used to determine descriptive accuracy of combined additive and multiplicative models of discounting and demand. Of the discounting models used in conjunction with the exponentiated demand equation, the Rachlin hyperboloid best described the delay dimension of consumption. The multiplicative version of the Rachlin equation applied to both delay and price outperformed other models tested. Therefore, existing models of discounting and demand can be extended to modeling consumption data from complex multidimensional experimental arrangements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark J Rzeszutek
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky
| | - Brent A Kaplan
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky
| | - Haily K Traxler
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky
| | | | - Mikhail N Koffarnus
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky
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Higgins ST, Erath TG, DeSarno M, Reed DD, Gaalema DE, Sigmon SC, Heil SH, Tidey JW. Leveraging the cigarette purchase task to understand relationships between cumulative vulnerabilities, the relative reinforcing effects of smoking, and response to reduced nicotine content cigarettes. Prev Med 2022; 165:107206. [PMID: 35995102 DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2022.107206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Revised: 07/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/14/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
We examined if the relative-reinforcing effects of smoking increase with greater cumulative vulnerability and whether cumulative vulnerability moderates response to reduced nicotine content cigarettes. Participants were 775 adults from randomized clinical trials evaluating research cigarettes differing in nicotine content (0.4, 2.4, 15.8 mg/g). Participants were categorized as having low (0-1), moderate (2-3), or high (≥4) cumulative vulnerability. Vulnerabilities included rural residence, opioid use disorder, affective disorder, low educational attainment, poverty, unemployment, and physical disability. We used the cigarette purchase task (CPT) to assess the relative-reinforcing effects of participants' usual-brand cigarettes at baseline and study cigarettes during the 12-week trial. The CPT is a behavioral-economic task wherein participants estimate likely smoking (demand) over 24 h under escalating cigarette price. Demand is characterized by two factors: Amplitude (demand volume at zero/minimal price) and Persistence (demand sensitivity to price). Greater cumulative vulnerability was associated with greater demand Amplitude (F[2709] = 16.04,p < .0001) and Persistence (F[2709] = 8.35,p = .0003) for usual-brand cigarettes. Demand Amplitude for study cigarettes increased with increasing cumulative vulnerability (F[2619] = 19.59, p < .001) and decreased with decreasing nicotine content ([4879] = 5.45, p < .001). The only evidence of moderation was on demand Persistence (F[8867] = 2.00,p = .04), with larger reductions at the 0.4 mg/g compared to 15.8 mg/g doses among participants with low compared to moderate or high cumulative vulnerability. The relative-reinforcing effects of smoking clearly increase with greater cumulative vulnerability. Reducing nicotine content would likely reduce demand Amplitude across cumulative-vulnerability levels but reductions in demand Persistence may be more limited among those with greater cumulative vulnerability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen T Higgins
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States of America.
| | - Tyler G Erath
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States of America
| | - Michael DeSarno
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States of America
| | - Derek D Reed
- Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States of America
| | - Diann E Gaalema
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States of America
| | - Stacey C Sigmon
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States of America
| | - Sarah H Heil
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States of America
| | - Jennifer W Tidey
- Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States of America
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17
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Browning KO, DeSarno MJ, Davis DR, Streck JM, Bergeria CL, Harfmann RF, Parker MA, Heil SH, Sigmon SC, Gaalema DE, Tidey JW, Lee DC, Tetreault HJ, Higgins ST. Relating individual differences in the reinforcing value of smoking and dependence severity to nicotine exposure levels in vulnerable populations. Prev Med 2022; 165:107312. [PMID: 36272516 PMCID: PMC9986960 DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2022.107312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2022] [Revised: 10/02/2022] [Accepted: 10/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Cigarette smoking is overrepresented in populations with psychiatric conditions and socioeconomic disadvantage. Greater understanding of the role of reinforcement and nicotine dependence in smoking among vulnerable populations may facilitate development of better targeted interventions to reduce smoking. Prior research demonstrated that individual differences in the reinforcing value of smoking and nicotine-dependence severity predicted total nicotine-exposure in vulnerable populations. The present study uses multivariate regression to address two aims: (1) Quantify the degree to which the reinforcing value of smoking, assessed using the Cigarette Purchase Task (CPT), and dependence severity assessed using the Fagerström Test of Nicotine Dependence and Brief Wisconsin Inventory of Smoking Dependence Motives (B-WISDM) each account for individual differences in cotinine-plus-3'-hydroxycotinine (COT+3HC) levels. (2) Explore whether there is overlap in the variance accounted for by the CTP, FTND, and B-WISDM. Participants were 628 adults with co-morbid psychiatric conditions or socioeconomic disadvantage who smoked daily. The CPT, FTND, and B-WISDM models accounted for 23.76%, 32.45%, and 29.61% of the variance in COT+3HC levels, respectively. Adding CPT to the FTND model failed to increase the variance accounted for and adding it to the B-WISDM model did so by only 1.2% demonstrating considerable overlap in the variance in nicotine exposure levels accounted for by these three instruments. These results provide new knowledge on the relationship between individual differences in the reinforcing value of smoking and nicotine-exposure levels and suggest differences in reinforcing value may underpin a considerable portion of the variance in nicotine exposure accounted for by dependence severity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaitlyn O Browning
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States of America
| | - Michael J DeSarno
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States of America
| | - Danielle R Davis
- Yale University Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Joanna M Streck
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Cecilia L Bergeria
- Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Roxanne F Harfmann
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States of America
| | - Maria A Parker
- School of Public Health, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States of America
| | - Sarah H Heil
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States of America
| | - Stacey C Sigmon
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States of America
| | - Diann E Gaalema
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States of America
| | - Jennifer W Tidey
- Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States of America
| | - Dustin C Lee
- Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Haley J Tetreault
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States of America
| | - Stephen T Higgins
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States of America.
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18
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Freitas-Lemos R, Stein JS, Tegge AN, Kaplan BA, Heckman BW, McNeill A, Cummings KM, Fong GT, Bickel WK. Illegal Experimental Tobacco Marketplace II: effects of vaping product bans - findings from the 2020 International Tobacco Control Project. Tob Control 2022; 31:s214-s222. [PMID: 36328461 PMCID: PMC9664097 DOI: 10.1136/tc-2022-057515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
SIGNIFICANCE Restrictive e-cigarette policies may increase purchases from illegal sources. The Illegal Experimental Tobacco Marketplace (IETM) allows examination of how restrictions impact illegal purchases. We investigated (1) the effect of a vaping ban, total flavour vaping ban and partial flavour vaping ban on the probability of purchasing illegal vaping products among different regulatory environments (USA, Canada and England) and tobacco user types (cigarette smokers, dual users and e-cigarette users); and (2) the relation between ban endorsement and illegal purchases. METHODS Participants (N=459) from the International Tobacco Control Survey rated their support of bans and chose to purchase from a hypothetical legal experimental tobacco marketplace or IETM under control and the three ban conditions. RESULTS In total, 25% of cigarette smokers, 67% of dual users and 79% of e-cigarette users made IETM purchases. Cross-country comparisons depicted dual users from Canada (OR: 19.8), and e-cigarette users from the USA (OR: 12.9) exhibited higher illegal purchases odds than the same user type in England. Within-country comparisons showed e-cigarette and dual users are more likely to purchase from the IETM than cigarette smokers in the most restrictive condition, with the largest effects in e-cigarette users (England-OR: 1722.6, USA-OR: 22725.3, Canada-OR: 6125.0). Increased opposition towards partial or total flavour ban was associated with increased IETM purchasing in the corresponding condition. CONCLUSIONS Vaping restrictions may shift users' preference to the illegal marketplace in a regulatory environment. Evidence of the IETM generalisability in a geographically dispersed sample enhances its utility in tobacco regulatory science.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jeffrey S Stein
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, Roanoke, Virginia, USA
| | - Allison N Tegge
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, Roanoke, Virginia, USA
| | - Brent A Kaplan
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
| | - Bryan W Heckman
- Center for the Study of Social Determinants on Health, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Ann McNeill
- UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies, National Addiction Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
| | - K Michael Cummings
- Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
| | - Geoffrey T Fong
- Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.,Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Warren K Bickel
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, Roanoke, Virginia, USA
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Rzeszutek MJ, Gipson-Reichardt CD, Kaplan BA, Koffarnus MN. Using crowdsourcing to study the differential effects of cross-drug withdrawal for cigarettes and opioids in a behavioral economic demand framework. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 2022; 30:452-465. [PMID: 35201826 PMCID: PMC9308700 DOI: 10.1037/pha0000558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Smoking rates among those who use prescribed or recreational opioids are significantly higher than the general population. Hypothesized neuropharmacological interactions between opioids and nicotine may contribute to this pattern of polysubstance use, especially during withdrawal. However, little research has examined how the withdrawal of one substance may affect the consumption of the other (i.e., cross-drug withdrawal effects). Behavioral economic demand tasks (e.g., hypothetical purchase tasks) can be used to quickly assess the value of a drug. Crowdsourcing can be a convenient tool to gain preliminary insight into different processes in substance valuation that may otherwise be impossible or prohibitively difficult to study. The purpose of the present study was to provide a preliminary examination of the effects of hypothetical withdrawal of cigarettes and opioids on the consumption of those drugs among polysubstance users. Amazon Mechanical Turk workers who reported daily smoking and at least monthly opioid use completed a series of hypothetical purchase tasks for doses of opioids and cigarettes under various withdrawal conditions. Sensitivity to the price of both drugs decreased when under withdrawal for either, indicating a higher drug value of cigarettes and opioids due to effects of cross-drug withdrawal. Nicotine and opioid dependence severity, impulsive choice, and riskiness were also positively related to drug purchasing. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
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20
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Freitas-Lemos R, Tegge AN, Craft WH, Tomlinson DC, Stein JS, Bickel WK. Understanding data quality: Instructional comprehension as a practical metric in crowdsourced investigations of behavioral economic cigarette demand. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 2022; 30:415-423. [PMID: 35862135 PMCID: PMC9469988 DOI: 10.1037/pha0000579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Crowdsourcing platforms allow researchers to quickly recruit and collect behavioral economic measures in substance-using populations, such as cigarette smokers. Despite the broad utility and flexibility, data quality issues have been an object of concern. In two separate studies recruiting cigarette smokers, we sought to investigate the association between a practical quality control measure (accuracy on an instruction quiz), on internal consistency of number of cigarettes smoked per day and purchasing patterns of tobacco products in an experimental tobacco marketplace (ETM; Study 1), and in a cigarette purchase task (CPT; Study 2). Participants (N = 312 in Study 1; N = 119 in Study 2) were recruited from Amazon mechanical turk. Both studies included task instructions, a quiz, a purchase task, cigarette usage and dependence questions, and demographics. The results show that participants who answered all instruction items correctly: (a) reported the number of cigarettes per day more consistently (partial η² = 0.11, p < .001, Study 1; partial η² = 0.09, p = .016, Study 2), (b) demonstrated increased model fit among the cigarette demand curves (partial η² = 0.23, p < .001, Study 1; partial η² = 0.08, p = .002, Study 2), and purchased tobacco products in the ETM more consistently with their current usage. We conclude that instruction quizzes before purchase tasks may be useful for researchers evaluating demand data. Instruction quizzes with multiple items may allow researchers to choose the level of data quality appropriate for their studies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Allison N. Tegge
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, VA, USA,Department of Statistics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - William H. Craft
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, VA, USA,Graduate Program in Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Devin C. Tomlinson
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, VA, USA,Graduate Program in Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Jeffrey S. Stein
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, VA, USA
| | - Warren K. Bickel
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, VA, USA
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21
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A neuroeconomic signature of opioid craving: How fluctuations in craving bias drug-related and nondrug-related value. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:1440-1448. [PMID: 34916590 PMCID: PMC9205977 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01248-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
How does craving bias decisions to pursue drugs over other valuable, and healthier, alternatives in addiction? To address this question, we measured the in-the-moment economic decisions of people with opioid use disorder as they experienced craving, shortly after receiving their scheduled opioid maintenance medication and ~24 h later. We found that higher cravers had higher drug-related valuation, and that moments of higher craving within-person also led to higher drug-related valuation. When experiencing increased opioid craving, participants were willing to pay more for personalized consumer items and foods more closely related to their drug use, but not for alternative "nondrug-related" but equally desirable options. This selective increase in value with craving was greater when the drug-related options were offered in higher quantities and was separable from the effects of other fluctuating psychological states like negative mood. These findings suggest that craving narrows and focuses economic motivation toward the object of craving by selectively and multiplicatively amplifying perceived value along a "drug relatedness" dimension.
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22
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Mead-Morse EL, Cassidy RN, Oncken C, Tidey JW, Delnevo CD, Litt M. Validity of a little cigars/cigarillos purchase task in dual users of cigars and cigarettes. Addict Behav 2022; 130:107285. [PMID: 35255241 DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Revised: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Hypothetical purchase tasks have been widely used to assess the reinforcing value of tobacco products. However, a task has not yet been validated for little cigars and cigarillos (LCCs), a popular tobacco product class among vulnerable populations. This study sought to validate the LCC Purchase Task (LCCPT) in a sample of experienced LCC smokers. METHODS Data were collected from 65 young adult (18-34 years) LCC and cigarette dual users (78.5% male) in Connecticut (2018-2020). Participants completed the usual-brand LCCPT for consumption in 24 h at increasing prices. We calculated four observed demand indices: intensity (consumption at $0), breakpoint (price after which consumption reaches 0), Omax (maximum daily expenditure), and Pmax (price at which daily expenditure was maximized). Two indices were estimated from demand curves: Q0 (predicted consumption as price approaches $0) and price-sensitivity (sensitivity to price increases). Spearman correlations and multivariable regressions examined the associations between demand indices, self-reported cigar use, and dependence. RESULTS Correlations were in expected directions. All indices except breakpoint and Pmax were positively correlated with use, and all indices were correlated with multiple measures of dependence. Overall, greater demand and expenditure for LCCs and lower sensitivity to price changes were correlated with greater use and dependence. In regression analyses intensity and price-sensitivity showed the strongest relationships with use and dependence. CONCLUSIONS The validity of the LCCPT was supported in a sample of experienced LCC smokers. This instrument can be incorporated into other protocols to assess the abuse liability of LCCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin L Mead-Morse
- Department of Medicine, UConn Health, 263 Farmington Ave., Farmington, CT 06030, USA.
| | - Rachel N Cassidy
- Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Box G-S121-4, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Cheryl Oncken
- Department of Medicine, UConn Health, 263 Farmington Ave., Farmington, CT 06030, USA
| | - Jennifer W Tidey
- Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Box G-S121-4, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Cristine D Delnevo
- Rutgers Center for Tobacco Studies, 303 George St., New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | - Mark Litt
- Division of Behavioral Science and Community Health, UConn Health, 263 Farmington Ave., Farmington, CT 06030, USA
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23
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Strickland JC. Commentary on Motschman et al.: Moving behavioral economic demand into the real world means moving beyond single schedules of reinforcement. Addiction 2022; 117:1897-1898. [PMID: 35373408 PMCID: PMC9321876 DOI: 10.1111/add.15888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Justin C. Strickland
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencesJohns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMDUSA
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Strickland JC, Bolin BL, Marks KR. (Non-) impact of task experience on behavioral economic decision-making. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 2022; 30:338-350. [PMID: 33617281 PMCID: PMC8610096 DOI: 10.1037/pha0000438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Behavioral economic research has been widely conducted via crowdsourcing resources to evaluate novel task designs or pilot interventions. One under recognized and yet-to-be tested concern is the impact of non-naïvety (i.e., prior task exposure) on behavioral economic task performance. We evaluated the influence of non-naïvety on task performance in two popular areas of behavioral economic research: behavioral economic demand and delay discounting. Participants (N = 485) recruited using Amazon Mechanical Turk (mTurk) completed alcohol and soda purchase tasks and delay discounting tasks for monetary and alcohol outcomes. Equivalence of responding and effect sizes with clinical variables were compared based on prior task experience. Over one quarter of participants reported demand task experience (26.9%) and nearly half endorsed delay discounting task experience (48.6%). Statistically equivalent responding was observed for alcohol purchase task data with less-than-small effect size differences based on task experience (d = 0.01-0.13). Similar results were observed for a soda purchase task thereby supporting generalization to a non-alcohol commodity. Measures of convergent and discriminant validity for behavioral economic demand indicated medium-to-large and stimulus-specific effect sizes with little variation based on prior task exposure. Delay discounting for money and alcohol showed some sensitivity to prior task experience (i.e., less steep discounting for non-naïve participants), however these effects were attenuated after accounting for group differences in alcohol use. These findings support the fidelity of behavioral economic task outcomes and emphasize that participant non-naïvety in crowdsourcing settings may minimally impact performance on behavioral economic assays commonly used in behavioral and addiction science. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
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Dolan SB, Spindle TR, Vandrey R, Johnson MW. Behavioral economic interactions between cannabis and alcohol purchasing: Associations with disordered use. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 2022; 30:159-171. [PMID: 33001691 PMCID: PMC8209692 DOI: 10.1037/pha0000397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
As cannabis policy changes, there is an urgent need to understand interactions between cannabis and alcohol couse. An online sample of 711 adult past-month cannabis and alcohol users completed both single-item hypothetical purchasing tasks for cannabis and alcohol and cross-commodity purchasing tasks assessing adjusting-price cannabis with concurrently available, fixed-price alcohol, and vice versa. Participants provided information about cannabis and alcohol use patterns, and completed the Alcohol and Cannabis Use Disorder Identification Tests (AUDIT and CUDIT, respectively). Group data showed that cannabis and alcohol served as complements (as the price of the adjusting-price commodity increased, consumption of both commodities decreased). However, individual data showed substantial variability with nontrivial proportions showing patterns of complementarity, substitution, and independence. More negative slopes (greater complementarity) for fixed-price cannabis and alcohol were both associated with greater self-reported drug consumption and CUDIT and AUDIT scores. The negative relation between cross-price slope and CUDIT/AUDIT score indicates that individuals who treat cannabis and alcohol more as complements are more likely to experience disordered use. Based on these cross-commodity purchasing data, when both cannabis and alcohol are concurrently available at low prices, both may be used at high levels, whereas limiting consumption of one commodity (e.g., through increased price) may reduce consumption of the other. These data show the importance of examining individual participant analyses of behavioral economic drug interactions and suggest that manipulation of cost (e.g., through taxes) or cosale restrictions are potential public health regulatory mechanisms for reducing alcohol and cannabis use and couse behaviors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean B Dolan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
| | | | - Ryan Vandrey
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
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Kaplan BA, Crill EM, Franck CT, Bickel WK, Koffarnus MN. Blood Nicotine Predicts the Behavioral Economic Abuse Liability of Reduced-Nicotine Cigarettes. Nicotine Tob Res 2022; 24:728-735. [PMID: 34865118 PMCID: PMC8962718 DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntab227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2021] [Revised: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cigarette smoking continues to be a major health concern and remains the leading preventable cause of death in the US. Recent efforts have been made to determine the potential health and policy benefits of reducing nicotine in combustible cigarettes. The degree to which changes in blood nicotine relate to measures of the abuse liability of reduced-nicotine cigarettes is unknown. The current study examined the relation between blood nicotine and behavioral economic demand measures of cigarettes differing in nicotine content. METHODS Using a within-subject design, participants smoked a single cigarette during each experimental session. Cigarettes included the participant's usual-brand cigarette and SPECTRUM investigational cigarette differing in nicotine level (mg of nicotine to g of tobacco; 15.8 mg/g, 5.2 mg/g, 2.4 mg/g, 1.3 mg/g, and 0.4 mg/g). During each session, blood was collected at multiple timepoints and behavioral economic demand was assessed. Nonlinear mixed-effects models were used to estimate differences in derived intensity (Q0) and change in elasticity (α). RESULTS Measures of blood nicotine decreased in an orderly fashion related to nicotine level and significantly predicted change in elasticity (α), but not derived intensity. No differences in demand parameters between the usual brand and 15.8mg/g cigarettes were observed. However, α was significantly higher (lower valuation) for 0.4mg/g than 15.8mg/g cigarettes. CONCLUSIONS The lowest nicotine level (0.4mg/g) corresponded with the lowest abuse liability (α) compared to the full-strength control (15.8mg/g), with the 1.3mg/g level also resulting in low abuse liability. IMPLICATIONS This is the first study examining the relative contributions of nicotine content in cigarettes and blood nicotine levels on the behavioral economic demand abuse liability of cigarettes ranging in nicotine content. Our results suggest blood nicotine and nicotine content both predict behavioral economic demand abuse liability. In addition, our results suggest a nicotine content of 1.3mg/g or lower may be effective at reducing cigarette uptake among first-time (naïve) smokers. Our results largely conform to previous findings suggesting a very low nicotine content cigarette maintains lower abuse liability than full-strength cigarettes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brent A Kaplan
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Elisa M Crill
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | | | - Warren K Bickel
- Addiction Recovery Research Center, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, Roanoke, VA, USA
- Graduate Program in Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Mikhail N Koffarnus
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
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Geboers C, Shang C, Nagelhout GE, de Vries H, van den Putte B, Fong GT, Candel MJJM, Willemsen MC. Demand for Factory-Made Cigarettes and Roll-Your-Own Tobacco and Differences Between Age and Socioeconomic Groups: Findings From the International Tobacco Control Netherlands Survey. Nicotine Tob Res 2022; 24:529-535. [PMID: 35231115 PMCID: PMC8887592 DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntab220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Macroeconomic studies have shown that young individuals who smoke, and have a low socioeconomic status respond more strongly to price increases. Most of this evidence stems from research on factory-made (FM) cigarettes. With the rising popularity of roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco, there is a need for studies on cigarette demand that distinguish between both. AIMS AND METHODS This study examined whether individual demand differed for FM and RYO tobacco, and across age, and socioeconomic (income and education) groups. Purchase tasks for FM and RYO cigarettes were included in the 2020 International Tobacco Control (ITC) Netherlands Survey. Adults who smoke daily (n = 1620) stated how many cigarettes they would smoke in 24 hours across eight prices. Four demand indices were derived: intensity (consumption at zero costs), alpha (rate of change in elasticity), Pmax (turning point elasticity), and breakpoint (lowest price where consumption equals zero). The indices were tested for subgroup differences. RESULTS Individuals who smoke RYO tobacco indicated higher intensity, and greater alpha than individuals who smoke FM cigarettes. Participants aged 25-39 had lower Pmax, and 18-24 year olds displayed higher breakpoints. Participants with low income displayed higher intensity, and lower Pmax than other income groups. No associations were found with education. CONCLUSIONS Individuals who smoke RYO tobacco indicated higher price sensitivity than those smoking FM cigarettes, supporting the need to harmonize tobacco taxation. Taxation may be especially beneficial to reducing consumption among individuals with a low income or smoke RYO tobacco. Substantially higher prices are needed in the Netherlands to achieve the desired results. IMPLICATIONS Individuals who smoke daily were willing to pay substantially higher prices than the current market prices, indicating the room and need for much higher taxation levels. Demand for RYO tobacco was more sensitive to price changes than demand for FM cigarettes. Taxation should be raised at equivalent rates for FM and RYO cigarettes. Taxation appears to be especially effective in reducing consumption among people who smoke RYO tobacco and low-income individuals. It remains important to combine increased taxation with other tobacco control measures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cloé Geboers
- Maastricht University, Department of Health Promotion (CAPHRI), Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Trimbos Institute, Netherlands Expertise Centre for Tobacco Control, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Ce Shang
- Ohio State University, Department of Internal Medicine, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Gera E Nagelhout
- Maastricht University, Department of Health Promotion (CAPHRI), Maastricht, The Netherlands
- IVO Research Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands
| | - Hein de Vries
- Maastricht University, Department of Health Promotion (CAPHRI), Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Bas van den Putte
- University of Amsterdam, Department of Communication (ASCoR), Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Geoffrey T Fong
- University of Waterloo, Department of Psychology, Waterloo, ON, Canada
- University of Waterloo, School of Public Health Sciences, Waterloo, ON, Canada
- Ontario Institute of Cancer Research, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Math J J M Candel
- Maastricht University, Department of Methodology and Statistics (CAPHRI), Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Marc C Willemsen
- Maastricht University, Department of Health Promotion (CAPHRI), Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Trimbos Institute, Netherlands Expertise Centre for Tobacco Control, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Strickland JC, Reed DD, Hursh SR, Schwartz LP, Foster RNS, Gelino BW, LeComte RS, Oda FS, Salzer AR, Schneider TD, Dayton L, Latkin C, Johnson MW. Behavioral economic methods to inform infectious disease response: Prevention, testing, and vaccination in the COVID-19 pandemic. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0258828. [PMID: 35045071 PMCID: PMC8769299 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 10/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The role of human behavior to thwart transmission of infectious diseases like COVID-19 is evident. Psychological and behavioral science are key areas to understand decision-making processes underlying engagement in preventive health behaviors. Here we adapt well validated methods from behavioral economic discounting and demand frameworks to evaluate variables (e.g., delay, cost, probability) known to impact health behavior engagement. We examine the contribution of these mechanisms within a broader response class of behaviors reflecting adherence to public health recommendations made during the COVID-19 pandemic. Four crowdsourced samples (total N = 1,366) completed individual experiments probing a response class including social (physical) distancing, facemask wearing, COVID-19 testing, and COVID-19 vaccination. We also measure the extent to which choice architecture manipulations (e.g., framing, opt-in/opt-out) may promote (or discourage) behavior engagement. We find that people are more likely to socially distance when specified activities are framed as high risk, that facemask use during social interaction decreases systematically with greater social relationship, that describing delay until testing (rather than delay until results) increases testing likelihood, and that framing vaccine safety in a positive valence improves vaccine acceptance. These findings collectively emphasize the flexibility of methods from diverse areas of behavioral science for informing public health crisis management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin C. Strickland
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Derek D. Reed
- Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States of America
- Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States of America
| | - Steven R. Hursh
- Applied Behavioral Biology Unit, Institutes for Behavior Resources, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Lindsay P. Schwartz
- Applied Behavioral Biology Unit, Institutes for Behavior Resources, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Rachel N. S. Foster
- Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States of America
| | - Brett W. Gelino
- Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States of America
| | - Robert S. LeComte
- Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States of America
| | - Fernanda S. Oda
- Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States of America
| | - Allyson R. Salzer
- Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States of America
| | - Tadd D. Schneider
- Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States of America
| | - Lauren Dayton
- Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Carl Latkin
- Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Matthew W. Johnson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
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Effects of episodic future thinking on reinforcement pathology during smoking cessation treatment among individuals with substance use disorders. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2022; 239:631-642. [PMID: 35020047 PMCID: PMC8799566 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-021-06057-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 12/28/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Reinforcer pathology (RP) is a theoretical model based on two processes: delay discounting (DD) and drug demand. Given that RP has been shown to have a predictive value on smoking behaviors, several studies have explored which interventions can reduce RP. Consistent with the RP framework, episodic future thinking (EFT) has shown effects on treatment outcomes and RP processes. The vast majority of studies that assess the effects of EFT on RP consist of experimental studies, and no previous research has tested these effects in a clinical sample of smokers. OBJECTIVES The primary aim of this study was to assess the effects of EFT on RP throughout the course of a smoking cessation intervention in smokers with substance use disorders (SUDs). METHODS Participants were randomized to cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) + EFT (n = 39) or CBT + EFT + contingency management (n = 33). Cotinine, frequency of EFT practices, cigarette purchase task (CPT), and DD were evaluated in treatment sessions. Mixed-effects model repeated measures analysis was used to explore DD and CPT in-treatment changes as a function of EFT practices and cotinine levels. RESULTS Greater practice of the EFT component significantly reduced cigarette demand (p < .020) as well as DD (p = .003). Additionally, a greater reduction in cotinine levels coupled with greater EFT practice led to a greater decrease in cigarette demand (p < .014). CONCLUSIONS EFT reduced the two facets of RP in treatment-seeking smokers with SUDs.
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The Influence of Episodic Future Thinking and Graphic Warning Labels on Delay Discounting and Cigarette Demand. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph182312637. [PMID: 34886370 PMCID: PMC8656814 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182312637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2021] [Revised: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Delay discounting and operant demand are two behavioral economic constructs that tend to covary, by degree, with cigarette smoking status. Given historically robust associations between adverse health outcomes of smoking, a strong preference for immediate reinforcement (measured with delay discounting), and excessive motivation to smoke cigarettes (measured with operant demand), researchers have made numerous attempts to attenuate the extent to which behaviors corresponding to these constructs acutely appear in smokers. One approach is episodic future thinking, which can reportedly increase the impact of future events on present decision making as well as reduce the reinforcing value of cigarettes. Graphic cigarette pack warning labels may also reduce smoking by increased future orientation. Experiment 1 evaluated the combined effects of episodic future thinking and graphic warning labels on delay discounting; Experiment 2 evaluated solely the effects of episodic future thinking on delay discounting and operant demand. We observed no statistically significant effects of episodic future thinking when combined with graphic warning labels or when assessed on its own. These results serve as a call for further research on the boundary conditions of experimental techniques reported to alter behaviors associated with cigarette smoking.
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31
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Gilroy SP. Hidden equivalence in the operant demand framework: A review and evaluation of multiple methods for evaluating nonconsumption. J Exp Anal Behav 2021; 117:105-119. [PMID: 34797575 DOI: 10.1002/jeab.724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2021] [Revised: 10/04/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Operant translations of behavioral economic concepts and principles have enhanced the ability of researchers to characterize the effects of reinforcers on behavior. Operant behavioral economic models of choice (i.e., Operant Demand) have been particularly useful in evaluating how the consumption of reinforcers is affected by various ecological factors (e.g., price, limited resources). Prevailing perspectives in the Operant Demand Framework are derived from the framework presented in Hursh and Silberberg (2008). Few dispute the utility of this framework and model, though debate continues regarding how to address the challenges associated with logarithmic scaling. At present, there are competing views regarding the handling of nonconsumption (i.e., 0 consumption values) and under which situations that alternative restatements of this framework are recommended. The purpose of this report was to review the shared mathematical bases for the Hursh and Silberberg and Koffarnus et al. (2015) models and how each can accommodate nonconsumption values. Simulations derived from those featured in Koffarnus et al. were used to conduct tests of equivalence between modeling strategies while controlling for interpretations of residual error as well as the absolute lower limit. Simulations and proofs were provided to illustrate how neither the Hursh and Silberberg nor Koffarnus et al. models can characterize demand at 0 and how both ultimately arrive at the same upper and lower limits. These findings are discussed, and recommendations are provided to build consensus related to zero consumption values in the Operant Demand Framework.
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Naudé GP, Johnson MW, Strickland JC, Berry MS, Reed DD. At-Risk Drinking, Operant Demand, and Cross-Commodity Discounting as Predictors of Drunk Driving in Underage College Women. Behav Processes 2021; 195:104548. [PMID: 34801655 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Revised: 11/03/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Behavioral economics offers unique tools for assessing value and motivation associated with college drinking. Tasks that model changes in consumption as a function of price (operant demand) or the decline in an outcome's subjective value as a function of time-to-occurrence (delay discounting) provide valuable information that may efficiently supplement clinical screening instruments when characterizing alcohol use severity. The first aim of this investigation was to examine the extent to which at-risk drinking, operant demand for alcohol, and single- and cross-commodity discounting of money and alcohol predict adverse consequences of past-month drinking in underage college women (N = 72). The second aim was to determine whether these clinical and behavioral economic measures could significantly predict the odds of past-month drunk driving, a serious public health concern due to the increasing prevalence of heavy episodic drinking among women in their first 1 - 2 years of college. Results showed that higher scores on the consumption factor of the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT-C), greater Persistence (consumption amidst constraint) and Amplitude (maximum consumption) of demand, as well as lower rates of discounting for choices between receiving alcohol now or double the amount after a delay (choosing the larger amount of alcohol even when it is delayed) significantly predicted adverse consequences of past-month drinking. Moreover, scores on the AUDIT-C, Amplitude of demand, and higher rates of discounting for choices between receiving alcohol now and money later (choosing immediately available alcohol at the expense of double the equivalent in delayed money) significantly predicted past-month drunk driving. We contend that operant demand along with single- and cross-commodity discounting can be viewed as intersecting measures of reinforcer value with clinical relevance to college women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gideon P Naudé
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA; Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
| | - Matthew W Johnson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Justin C Strickland
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Meredith S Berry
- Department of Health Education and Behavior, University of Florida; Department of Psychology, University of Florida
| | - Derek D Reed
- Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA; Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
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Applying Mixed-Effects Modeling to Behavioral Economic Demand: An Introduction. Perspect Behav Sci 2021; 44:333-358. [PMID: 34632281 DOI: 10.1007/s40614-021-00299-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Behavioral economic demand methodology is increasingly being used in various fields such as substance use and consumer behavior analysis. Traditional analytical techniques to fitting demand data have proven useful yet some of these approaches require preprocessing of data, ignore dependence in the data, and present statistical limitations. We term these approaches "fit to group" and "two stage" with the former interested in group or population level estimates and the latter interested in individual subject estimates. As an extension to these regression techniques, mixed-effect (or multilevel) modeling can serve as an improvement over these traditional methods. Notable benefits include providing simultaneous group (i.e., population) level estimates (with more accurate standard errors) and individual level predictions while accommodating the inclusion of "nonsystematic" response sets and covariates. These models can also accommodate complex experimental designs including repeated measures. The goal of this article is to introduce and provide a high-level overview of mixed-effects modeling techniques applied to behavioral economic demand data. We compare and contrast results from traditional techniques to that of the mixed-effects models across two datasets differing in species and experimental design. We discuss the relative benefits and drawbacks of these approaches and provide access to statistical code and data to support the analytical replicability of the comparisons. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40614-021-00299-7.
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Bickel WK, Freitas-Lemos R, Tegge AN, Tomlinson DC, Epstein LH. Behavioral economic cigarette demand among individuals who smoke with and without obesity. Health Psychol 2021; 40:666-673. [PMID: 34881934 PMCID: PMC9972959 DOI: 10.1037/hea0001126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Obesity and cigarette smoking are leading preventable causes of mortality, with greater mortality risk when these disorders occur together. Comorbid obesity and cigarette smoking may affect the valuation of cigarettes. The present study examines the demand for cigarettes between obese and nonobese smokers. METHOD Participants (N = 187) from four in-laboratory studies completed the hypothetical cigarette purchase task. According to self-reported height and weight, participants were assigned to either the obese group (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 30) or to the nonobese group (BMI < 30). RESULTS Significant differences in demand intensity were observed between individuals with and without obesity, F(1, 168) = 9.284, p = .003, with individuals who smoke and are obese showing higher demand intensity (product purchasing when free). These differences in demand intensity between groups remained after adjusting for the number of cigarettes consumed per day. No differences were observed in elasticity of demand, F(1, 168) = 1.033, p = .311. CONCLUSIONS The results reported here suggest that individuals who smoke and are obese may value brief, intense, and immediate reinforcers more than individuals who smoke and are not obese. Further research may suggest reinforcer pathology as a basis for this result. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Warren K. Bickel
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, VA, USA
| | | | - Allison N. Tegge
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, VA, USA,Department of Statistics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Devin C. Tomlinson
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, VA, USA,Graduate Program in Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health, Virginia Tech, USA
| | - Leonard H. Epstein
- Division of Behavioral Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
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Martínez-Loredo V, González-Roz A, Secades-Villa R, Fernández-Hermida JR, MacKillop J. Concurrent validity of the Alcohol Purchase Task for measuring the reinforcing efficacy of alcohol: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Addiction 2021; 116:2635-2650. [PMID: 33338263 PMCID: PMC9186155 DOI: 10.1111/add.15379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2020] [Revised: 09/09/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS An early meta-analysis testing the concurrent validity of the Alcohol Purchase Task (APT), a measure of alcohol's relative reinforcing value, reported mixed associations, but predated a large number of studies. This systematic review and meta-analysis sought to: (1) estimate the relationships between trait-based alcohol demand indices from the APT and multiple alcohol indicators, (2) test several moderators and (3) analyze small study effects. METHODS A meta-analysis of 50 cross-sectional studies in four databases (n = 18 466, females = 43.32%). Sex, year of publication, number of APT prices and index transformations (logarithmic, square root or none) were considered as moderators. Small study effects were examined by using the Begg-Mazumdar, Egger's and Duval & Tweedie's trim-and-fill tests. Alcohol indicators were quantity of alcohol use, number of heavy drinking episodes, alcohol-related problems and hazardous drinking. APT indices were intensity (i.e. consumption at zero cost), elasticity (i.e. sensitivity to increases in costs), Omax (i.e. maximum expenditure), Pmax (i.e. price associated to Omax ) and breakpoint (i.e. price at which consumption ceases). RESULTS All alcohol demand indices were significantly associated with all alcohol-related outcomes (r = 0.132-0.494), except Pmax , which was significantly associated with alcohol-related problems only (r = 0.064). The greatest associations were evinced between intensity in relation to alcohol use, hazardous drinking and heavy drinking and between Omax and alcohol use. All the tested moderators emerged as significant moderators. Evidence of small-study effects was limited. CONCLUSIONS The Alcohol Purchase Task appears to have concurrent validity in alcohol research. Intensity and Omax are the most relevant indices to account for alcohol involvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Martínez-Loredo
- Department of Psychology and Sociology, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain,Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
| | - Alba González-Roz
- Department of Psychology, University of the Balearic Islands, Research Institute on Health Sciences, Palma de Mallorca, Spain,Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
| | | | | | - James MacKillop
- Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, St Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton/McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
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Donny EC, White CM. A review of the evidence on cigarettes with reduced addictiveness potential. THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DRUG POLICY 2021; 99:103436. [PMID: 34535366 PMCID: PMC8785120 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Revised: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Background In May 2018, the Secretariat for the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control convened a meeting to discuss the potential for reducing the addictiveness of tobacco products. A central focus was to review research findings on the behavioral effects of reducing the addictiveness of cigarettes. Methods This manuscript reports the results of a review of the behavioral science literature, updated through April 2021, with special attention to both the potential benefits and unintended consequences of reducing nicotine in cigarettes. Results Available evidence suggests that reducing nicotine content in cigarettes to very low levels could benefit public health in three primary ways, by 1) decreasing uptake of regular smoking, 2) decreasing the amount people smoke, and 3) increasing the likelihood of smoking cessation. Current evidence also suggests that reducing nicotine in cigarettes may produce similar benefits across many important subpopulations of people who smoke, including those with psychiatric comorbidities, those who use other substances, those with low socioeconomic status, young people, people who smoke infrequently and people who prefer menthol cigarettes. Cigarette nicotine reduction could also lead to some undesirable outcomes, such as experiencing withdrawal, product manipulation, an illicit market, and harm misperceptions; strategies that may mitigate each are discussed. Conclusion Overall, behavioral research suggests product standards that limit the nicotine content of combusted tobacco products could render cigarettes and similar products less addictive. The availability of legal, non-combusted products that effectively substitute for cigarettes and the dissemination of public health campaigns that clarify misperceptions about the relationship between nicotine, tobacco and disease may facilitate the extent to which a nicotine reduction policy reduces smoking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric C Donny
- Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
| | - Cassidy M White
- Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
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37
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González-Roz A, Secades-Villa R, Aonso-Diego G, Weidberg S, Fernández-Hermida JR. No evidence of the clinical utility of single-item breakpoint to inform on tobacco demand in persons with substance use disorders. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2021; 238:2525-2533. [PMID: 34031700 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-021-05875-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Behavioral economics has shown that single-item demand indicators are promising for capturing crucial aspects of nicotine reinforcement. It is suggested that brief breakpoint measures perform comparably to full-length demand indices in characterizing nicotine dependence; however, there have been no thorough assessments of their validity in clinical settings. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to assess the validity and accuracy of a single-item breakpoint in informing on tobacco demand. METHODS The sample consisted of 88 treatment-seeking smokers (% males = 70.5%) enrolled in substance use treatment. Participants provided data on smoking characteristics and completed the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence, a single-item breakpoint measure and a 14-item cigarette purchase task (CPT). Hierarchical regressions were performed to compare the predictive capability of a single-item breakpoint and full-length tobacco demand indicators in determining nicotine addiction severity. RESULTS The single-item breakpoint was significantly correlated with all indices stemmed from the CPT and both latent factors (all r values = .250-.368). Neither the brief breakpoint nor the full-length breakpoint significantly predicted nicotine dependence. After controlling for sex and smoking variables, factor 2 [β = .565, p < .001] and its observed variables Omax [β = .279, p = .006], 1/elasticity [β = .340, p = .001], and intensity [β = .551, p < .001], robustly predicted nicotine dependence severity. CONCLUSIONS Our findings do not support the validity of single-item breakpoint measures for characterizing nicotine dependence in substance users. In a bid to foster translational research, brief demand measures capturing Omax, intensity, and elasticity should be developed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alba González-Roz
- Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Plaza Feijóo s/n, 33003, Oviedo, Spain.
- Department of Psychology/Research Institute of Health Sciences (IUNICS), University of the Balearic Islands, Valldemossa Km. 7.5, E-07122, Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
| | - Roberto Secades-Villa
- Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Plaza Feijóo s/n, 33003, Oviedo, Spain
| | - Gema Aonso-Diego
- Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Plaza Feijóo s/n, 33003, Oviedo, Spain
| | - Sara Weidberg
- Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Plaza Feijóo s/n, 33003, Oviedo, Spain
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38
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Salzer AR, Strickland JC, Stoops WW, Reed DD. An evaluation of fixed and randomized price sequence on the alcohol purchase task. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 2021; 29:295-301. [PMID: 32673049 PMCID: PMC8447474 DOI: 10.1037/pha0000421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Factors influencing drug consumption can be effectively evaluated in the context of behavioral economic demand. Specifically, hypothetical purchase tasks (HPTs) allow for estimated drug consumption at a range of prices in which drug administration is not ethically or feasibly possible. With the marked increase of HPTs in behavioral research, understanding methodological influences on responding is paramount. One such methodological consideration is the price sequence, which can be presented in a fixed, ascending order or a randomized sequence. This study compared fixed and fully randomized sequence order with college student drinkers using a within-subjects design. Self-reported consumption revealed that despite some small differences between the fixed and random sequences, consumption preferences were highly similar, regardless of presentation order. These results suggest participants are likely not anchoring their responses to the prior price on a fixed-order sequence. We conclude with a discussion on how these findings provide implications for HPTs and future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Brown J, Washington WD, Stein JS, Kaplan BA. The Gym Membership Purchase Task: Early Evidence Towards Establishment of a Novel Hypothetical Purchase Task. PSYCHOLOGICAL RECORD 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s40732-021-00475-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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40
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Green R, MacKillop J, Hartwell EE, Lim AC, Baskerville WA, Karno M, Ray LA. Behavioral Economic Demand for Alcohol and Cigarettes in Heavy Drinking Smokers: Evidence of Asymmetric Cross-commodity Reinforcing Value. Nicotine Tob Res 2021; 23:748-755. [PMID: 33247757 DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntaa049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2019] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Previous studies have highlighted a strong bidirectional relationship between cigarette and alcohol consumption. To advance our understanding of this relationship the present study uses a behavioral economic approach in a community sample (N = 383) of nontreatment seeking heavy drinking smokers. AIMS AND METHODS The aims were to examine same-substance and cross-substance relationships between alcohol and cigarette use, and latent factors of demand. A community sample of nontreatment seeking heavy drinking smokers completed an in-person assessment battery including measures of alcohol and tobacco use as well as the Cigarette Purchase Task and the Alcohol Purchase Task. Latent factors of demand were derived from these hypothetical purchase tasks. RESULTS Results revealed a positive correlation between paired alcohol and cigarette demand indices (eg, correlation between alcohol intensity and cigarette intensity) (rs = 0.18-0.46, p ≤ .003). Over and above alcohol factors, cigarette use variables (eg, Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence and cigarettes per smoking day) significantly predicted an additional 4.5% (p < .01) of the variance in Persistence values but not Amplitude values for alcohol. Over and above cigarette factors, alcohol use variables predicted cigarette Persistence values (ΔR2 = .013, p = .05), however, did not predict Amplitude values. CONCLUSIONS These results advance our understanding of the overlap between cigarette and alcohol by demonstrating that involvement with one substance was associated with demand for the other substance. This asymmetric profile-from smoking to alcohol demand, but not vice versa-suggests that it is not simply tapping into a generally higher reward sensitivity and warrants further investigation. IMPLICATIONS To our knowledge, no study to date has examined alcohol and cigarette demand, via hypothetical purchase tasks, in a clinical sample of heavy drinking smokers. This study demonstrates that behavioral economic indices may be sensitive to cross-substance relationships and specifically that such relationships are asymmetrically stronger for smoking variables affecting alcohol demand, not the other way around.
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Affiliation(s)
- ReJoyce Green
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
| | - James MacKillop
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Emily E Hartwell
- Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Corporal Michael J Crescenz VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA.,Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Aaron C Lim
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
| | | | - Mitchell Karno
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Lara A Ray
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA.,Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
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41
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Loganathan K, Ho ETW. Value, drug addiction and the brain. Addict Behav 2021; 116:106816. [PMID: 33453587 DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.106816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Revised: 11/17/2020] [Accepted: 01/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Over the years, various models have been proposed to explain the psychology and biology of drug addiction, built primarily around the habit and compulsion models. Recent research indicates drug addiction may be goal-directed, motivated by excessive valuation of drugs. Drug consumption may initially occur for the sake of pleasure but may transition to a means of escaping withdrawal, stress and negative emotions. In this hypothetical paper, we propose a value-based neurobiological model for drug addiction. We posit that during dependency, the value-based decision-making system in the brain is not inactive but has instead prioritized drugs as the reward of choice. In support of this model, we consider the role of valuation in choice, its influence on pleasure and punishment, and how valuation is contrasted in impulsive and compulsive behaviours. We then discuss the neurobiology of value, beginning with the dopaminergic system and its relationship with incentive salience before moving to brain-wide networks involved in valuation, control and prospection. These value-based neurobiological components are then integrated into the cycle of addiction as we consider the development of drug dependency from a valuation perspective. We conclude with a discussion of cognitive interventions utilizing value-based decision-making, highlighting not just advances in recalibrating the valuation system to focus on non-drug rewards, but also areas for improvement in refining this approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kavinash Loganathan
- Centre for Intelligent Signal & Imaging, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Perak, Malaysia.
| | - Eric Tatt Wei Ho
- Centre for Intelligent Signal & Imaging, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Perak, Malaysia; Dept of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Perak, Malaysia
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42
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Strickland JC, Vsevolozhskaya OA, Stoops WW. E-Cigarette Demand: Impact of Commodity Definitions and Test-Retest Reliability. Nicotine Tob Res 2021; 23:557-565. [PMID: 32770216 DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntaa139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2019] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Behavioral economic demand provides a multidimensional understanding of reinforcement. Commodity purchase tasks are an efficient method for measuring demand in human participants. One challenge in translating these procedures to electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS or e-cigarettes) is defining commodity units given the lack of standardization in the e-cigarette marketplace. AIMS AND METHODS The purpose of this study was to directly compare methods of operationalizinge-cigarette purchases, puffs, cartridges, and mLs liquid, using a within-subject design. Participants (N = 132) reporting past week e-cigarette use were recruited using crowdsourcing. Purchase tasks were completed operationalizing e-cigarette units as puffs or cartridges at baseline and puffs or mLs liquid at a 3-month follow-up. RESULTS Bivariate associations supported convergent and discriminant validity with the largest effect size correlations for intensity and elasticity observed for the puff version. Interaction models suggested that product preferences moderated the relationship between time-to-first use and cartridge demand with larger effect size correlations among persons reporting a preference for JUULs, but weaker relationships among persons reporting other device preferences. Puff intensity (rxx = .61) and elasticity (rxx = .62) showed good test-retest reliability for participants reporting stable consumption, but poor test-retest reliability for individuals with changed consumption levels (intensity rxx = -.08; elasticity rxx = -.10). CONCLUSIONS This study highlights the relevance of commodity definitions in the e-cigarette purchase task. Puffs as an experimental commodity may provide flexibility for studying e-cigarette demand in heterogenous or unknown populations, whereas more tailored or personalized approaches like cartridge or mL-based tasks will likely be helpful when studying known subgroups. IMPLICATIONS The commodity purchase task procedure is widely used for understanding cigarette and e-cigarette demand in nicotine dependence research. This study evaluates the importance of operational definitions of e-cigarette commodities in the purchase task (ie, puffs, cartridges, or mLs liquid). Puffs may provide a more flexible commodity unit when evaluating e-cigarette demand in general or heterogenous populations, whereas device-specific units may prove more valuable when studying populations with consistent and known product use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin C Strickland
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Olga A Vsevolozhskaya
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Kentucky College of Public Health, Lexington, KY
| | - William W Stoops
- Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY.,Center on Drug and Alcohol Research, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY.,Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, Lexington, KY.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY
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43
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Gilroy SP, Kaplan BA, Schwartz LP, Reed DD, Hursh SR. A zero-bounded model of operant demand. J Exp Anal Behav 2021; 115:729-746. [PMID: 33586193 DOI: 10.1002/jeab.679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2020] [Revised: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Contemporary approaches for evaluating the demand for reinforcers use either the Exponential or the Exponentiated model of operant demand, both derived from the framework of Hursh and Silberberg (2008). This report summarizes the strengths and complications of this framework and proposes a novel implementation. This novel implementation incorporates earlier strengths and resolves existing shortcomings that are due to the use of a logarithmic scale for consumption. The Inverse Hyperbolic Sine (IHS) transformation is reviewed and evaluated as a replacement for the logarithmic scale in models of operant demand. Modeling consumption in the "log10 -like" IHS scale reflects relative changes in consumption (as with a log scale) and accommodates a true zero bound (i.e., zero consumption values). The presence of a zero bound obviates the need for a separate span parameter (i.e., k) and the span of the model may be more simply defined by maximum demand at zero price (i.e., Q0 ). Further, this reformulated model serves to decouple the exponential rate constant (i.e., α) from variations in span, thus normalizing the rate constant to the span of consumption in IHS units and permitting comparisons when spans vary. This model, called the Zero-bounded Exponential (ZBE), is evaluated using simulated and real-world data. The direct reinstatement ZBE model showed strong correspondence with empirical indicators of demand and with a normalization of α (ZBEn) across empirical data that varied in reinforcing efficacy (dose, time to onset of peak effects). Future directions in demand curve analysis are discussed with recommendations for additional replication and exploration of scales beyond the logarithm when accommodating zero consumption data.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Steven R Hursh
- Institutes for Behavior Resources, Inc. and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
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44
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No evidence of differences in smoking levels, nicotine dependence, carbon monoxide or motivational indices between cigarette smokers and cigarette + e-cigarette dual users in two samples. Addict Behav 2021; 112:106543. [PMID: 32911351 DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2020] [Revised: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 07/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Concurrent use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) as an alternative source of nicotine may lead to lower smoke exposure, tobacco addiction and reinforcing value of conventional combustible cigarettes. In two different cohorts, we characterized smokers, dual cigarette/e-cigarette users, and e-cigarette-only users in terms of sociodemographic, motives and patterns of e-cigarette use. Differences in smoking-related characteristics and reinforcing value of cigarettes between smokers and e-cigarette dual users were also examined. Two cohorts comprising 339 community adults [Sample 1; aged 18-65] and 293 young adult binge drinkers [Sample 2; aged 19-24] were recruited in Hamilton, Ontario. All participants provided expired carbon monoxide (CO) samples and completed an assessment battery including the Fagerström Test of Nicotine Dependence (FTND), the Wisconsin Inventory of Smoking Dependence Motives (WISDM), and the Cigarette Purchase Task (CPT). In both samples, smoking rate, CO level, FTND, WISDM, and CPT responses did not significantly differ between smokers and dual users. Compared to e-cigarette-only individuals, dual users from the two cohorts reported a greater use of e-cigarettes for quitting smoking, but dual product consumers exhibited no significant differences in motivation for change relative to combustible-only smokers. Relative to smokers, e-cigarette dual users did not show lower levels of smoking, lower severity of cigarette addiction and reinforcing value of cigarettes in these samples. These findings suggest that concurrent e-cigarette use does not affect combustible tobacco use or motivation, or reduce its harms.
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45
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Reed DD, Naudé GP, Salzer AR, Peper M, Monroe-Gulick AL, Gelino BW, Harsin JD, Foster RNS, Nighbor TD, Kaplan BA, Koffarnus MN, Higgins ST. Behavioral economic measurement of cigarette demand: A descriptive review of published approaches to the cigarette purchase task. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 2020; 28:688-705. [PMID: 31961164 PMCID: PMC8428680 DOI: 10.1037/pha0000347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
The cigarette purchase task (CPT) is a behavioral economic method for assessing demand for cigarettes. Growing interest in behavioral correlates of tobacco use in clinical and general populations as well as empirical efforts to inform policy has seen an increase in published articles employing the CPT. Accordingly, an examination of the published methods and procedures for obtaining these behavioral economic metrics is timely. The purpose of this investigation was to provide a review of published approaches to using the CPT. We searched specific Boolean operators (["behavioral economic" AND "purchase task"] OR ["demand" AND "cigarette"]) and identified 49 empirical articles published through the year 2018 that reported administering a CPT. Articles were coded for participant characteristics (e.g., sample size, population type, age), CPT task structure (e.g., price framing, number and sequence of prices; vignettes, contextual factors), and data analytic approach (e.g., method of generating indices of cigarette demand). Results of this review indicate no standard approach to administering the CPT and underscore the need for replicability of these behavioral economic measures for the purpose of guiding clinical and policy decisions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Derek D. Reed
- University of Kansas and Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment, Lawrence, Kansas
| | - Gideon P. Naudé
- University of Kansas and Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment, Lawrence, Kansas
| | - Allyson R. Salzer
- University of Kansas and Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment, Lawrence, Kansas
| | | | | | - Brett W. Gelino
- University of Kansas and Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment, Lawrence, Kansas
| | - Joshua D. Harsin
- University of Kansas and Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment, Lawrence, Kansas
| | - Rachel N. S. Foster
- University of Kansas and Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment, Lawrence, Kansas
| | - Tyler D. Nighbor
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Burlington, Vermont, and University of Vermont
| | | | | | - Stephen T. Higgins
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Burlington, Vermont, and University of Vermont
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46
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Nighbor TD, Coleman SR, Bunn JY, DeSarno MJ, Morehead AL, Tang KJ, Keith DR, Plucinski ST, Kurti AN, Zvorsky I, Higgins ST. Using the Cigarette Purchase Task to examine the relative reinforcing value of cigarettes among mothers with versus without opioid dependence. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 2020; 28:706-713. [PMID: 32105135 PMCID: PMC7483168 DOI: 10.1037/pha0000353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The Cigarette Purchase Task (CPT), in which participants estimate the number of cigarettes they would smoke across increasing cigarette prices, measures the relative reinforcing value of cigarettes. Although opioid-dependent individuals are particularly vulnerable to tobacco addiction, more research is needed to elucidate whether and to what extent their motivation to smoke differs from not-opioid-dependent smokers controlling for potential sociodemographic differences. Participants were 173 women (65 opioid-dependent) in an ongoing clinical trial for smoking cessation. Baseline CPT responses were compared between opioid-dependent and not-opioid-dependent women using five demand indices: Demand Intensity; Omax; Pmax; Breakpoint (BP); and α, and two latent factors: Amplitude and Persistence. Final regression models adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics differing between the two groups. Opioid-dependent women had greater demand Intensity (i.e., number of cigarettes they would smoke if they were free) than not-opioid dependent women in the adjusted model, F(1, 156) = 6.93, p = .016. No other demand indices differed significantly. Regarding latent factors, demand Amplitude (i.e., volumetric consumption), but not Persistence (i.e., price insensitivity), was greater for opioid-dependent women in the adjusted model, F(1, 146) = 4.04, p = .046. These results further demonstrate that the CPT is a highly sensitive task that can illuminate potentially important individual and population differences in the relative reinforcing value of smoking. Greater demand Intensity and Amplitude differentiated smokers with comorbid opioid dependence; thus, decreasing smoking prevalence among opioid-dependent populations may require policies and interventions that can decrease cigarette demand Intensity and Amplitude. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler D. Nighbor
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont,Departments of Psychiatry, University of Vermont
| | - Sulamunn R.M. Coleman
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont,Departments of Psychiatry, University of Vermont
| | | | | | | | | | - Diana R. Keith
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont
| | | | - Allison N. Kurti
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont,Departments of Psychiatry, University of Vermont,Psychological Science, University of Vermont
| | - Ivori Zvorsky
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont,Psychological Science, University of Vermont
| | - Stephen T. Higgins
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont,Departments of Psychiatry, University of Vermont,Psychological Science, University of Vermont
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47
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Relating individual differences in nicotine dependence severity to underpinning motivational and pharmacological processes among smokers from vulnerable populations. Prev Med 2020; 140:106189. [PMID: 32628945 PMCID: PMC7680415 DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2020] [Revised: 05/08/2020] [Accepted: 06/28/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
We examined whether elucidating underpinning smoking motivation and related pharmacological processes enhances understanding of nicotine dependence among smokers from vulnerable populations. Data were obtained between Oct, 2016 and Sept, 2019 from 745 adult smokers with co-morbid psychiatric conditions or socioeconomic disadvantage at University of Vermont, Brown University, Johns Hopkins University. Smoking motivation was assessed using the Cigarette Purchase Task (CPT), a behavioral-economic task that models the relative reinforcing value of smoking under varying monetary constraint. Dependence severity was measured using the Heaviness of Smoking Index (HSI), Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence total scores (FTND), and FTND total scores minus items 1 and 4 (FTND2,3,5,6). We also assessed associations between dependence severity and smoking motivation with nicotine levels and metabolism rate. Principal Component Analysis was used to examine the latent structure of the conventional five CPT indices; bivariate and multivariable modeling was used to test associations. Factor analysis resulted in a two-factor solution, Amplitude (demand unconstrained by price) and Persistence (price sensitivity). CPT latent factors were associated with each dependence-severity measure (ps ≤ 0.0001), with associations stronger for Amplitude than Persistence across each, especially HSI which was exclusively associated with Amplitude. Amplitude and each dependence measure were associated with nicotine intake (ps ≤ 0.0002); Persistence was not (p = .19). Demand Amplitude more than Persistence appears key to understanding individual differences in dependence severity. Regarding potential application, the results suggest a need for interventions that more effectively target demand Amplitude to make greater headway in reducing smoking in vulnerable populations. Trial Registration:clinicaltrials.gov identifiers: NCT02232737, NCT02250664, NCT02250534.
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48
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Nighbor TD, Barrows AJ, Bunn JY, DeSarno MJ, Oliver AC, Coleman SRM, Davis DR, Streck JM, Reed EN, Reed DD, Higgins ST. Comparing participant estimated demand intensity on the cigarette Purchase Task to consumption when usual-brand cigarettes were provided free. Prev Med 2020; 140:106221. [PMID: 32717262 PMCID: PMC7680356 DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2020] [Revised: 07/16/2020] [Accepted: 07/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Accumulating evidence suggests that the hypothetical Cigarette Purchase Task (CPT), especially its demand Intensity index (i.e., estimated cigarettes participants would smoke if free), is associated with individual differences in smoking risk. Nevertheless, few studies have examined the extent to which hypothetical CPT demand Intensity may differ from consumption when participants are provided with free cigarettes. That topic is the overarching focus of the present study. Participants were 745 adult smokers with co-morbid psychiatric conditions or socioeconomic disadvantage. CPT was administered for usual-brand cigarettes prior to providing participants with seven days of their usual-brand cigarettes free of cost and consumption was recorded daily via an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) System. Demand Intensity was correlated with IVR smoking rate (rs 0.670-0.696, ps < 0.001) but estimates consistently exceeded IVR smoking rates by an average of 4.4 cigarettes per day (ps < 0.001). Importantly, both measures were comparably sensitive to discerning well-established differences in smoking risk, including greater cigarettes per day among men versus women (F(1,732) = 18.74, p < 0.001), those with versus without opioid-dependence (F(1,732) = 168.37, p < 0.001), younger versus older adults (F(2,730) = 32.93, p < 0.001), and those with lower versus greater educational attainment (F(1,732) = 38.26, p < 0.001). Overall, CPT demand Intensity appears to overestimate consumption rates relative to those observed when participants are provided with free cigarettes, but those deviations are systematic (i.e., consistent in magnitude and direction, Fs all <1.63; ps > 0.19 for all interactions with subgroups). This suggests that demand Intensity was sensitive to established group differences in smoking rate, supporting its utility as an important measure of addiction potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler D Nighbor
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont, United States of America
| | - Anthony J Barrows
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, United States of America
| | - Janice Y Bunn
- Department of Medical Biostatistics, University of Vermont, United States of America
| | - Michael J DeSarno
- Department of Medical Biostatistics, University of Vermont, United States of America
| | - Anthony C Oliver
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont, United States of America
| | - Sulamunn R M Coleman
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont, United States of America
| | - Danielle R Davis
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, United States of America
| | - Joanna M Streck
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, United States of America
| | - Ellaina N Reed
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, United States of America
| | - Derek D Reed
- Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, United States of America
| | - Stephen T Higgins
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont, United States of America; Department of Psychology, University of Vermont, United States of America.
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Cassidy RN, Long V, Tidey JW, Colby SM. Validation of an E-cigarette Purchase Task in Advanced Generation Device Users. Nicotine Tob Res 2020; 22:1851-1859. [PMID: 32267947 PMCID: PMC7542643 DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntaa060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2019] [Accepted: 04/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Behavioral economic purchase tasks are used to estimate the reinforcing value of drugs by asking participants how much they would purchase across a range of increasing prices. We sought to validate such a task for e-cigarettes in experienced users of advanced generation, tank-style devices. METHODS Dual users of cigarettes and e-cigarettes (N = 54) and exclusive e-cigarette users (N = 59) attended one session during which they completed assessments including two versions of the E-cigarette Purchase Task: one that asked how many puffs of their e-cigarette they would purchase in 24 hours at varying prices and one that asked how many mLs of e-liquid they would purchase. We correlated purchase task outcomes with other measures of e-cigarette use. We also compared the tasks across dual and exclusive users. RESULTS Indices derived from the mLs-based task were more likely to be correlated with self-reported use rates, e-cigarette dependence, and cotinine levels than the puffs-based task. Exclusive users showed greater demand on than dual users only on the mLs version when using an F-test comparison method, while multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) results showed that dual users showed greater demand only on the puffs task. CONCLUSIONS Results indicate that the mLs version had greater validity than the puffs version in terms of clinical indices. Dual users may still be on a trajectory to fully switching to e-cigarettes; thus, puffs as a measure may be more intuitive, as this measure is shared by cigarettes and e-cigarettes. For exclusive users, the unit they purchase their e-liquid in may be the most relevant unit and better capture their demand for that product. IMPLICATIONS Behavioral economic purchase tasks have been widely used to understand nicotine use. We have developed two versions of a purchase task for e-cigarette use and compared the two versions in users of advanced generation e-cigarette devices. We found that the mLs version of the task better-reflected use patterns relative to a puffs version, which suggests that participants struggle to place monetary value on a unit of consumption (ie, puffs). Validated measures of e-cigarette reinforcement will be important as researchers and regulators determine which features of these products contribute to reinforcing efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel N Cassidy
- Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI
| | - Victoria Long
- Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI
| | - Jennifer W Tidey
- Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI
| | - Suzanne M Colby
- Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI
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Strickland JC, Lacy RT. Behavioral economic demand as a unifying language for addiction science: Promoting collaboration and integration of animal and human models. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 2020; 28:404-416. [PMID: 32105136 PMCID: PMC7390687 DOI: 10.1037/pha0000358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The intersection of pharmacological, psychological, and economic theory within behavioral economics has helped advance an understanding of substance use disorder. A notable contribution of this approach is the conceptualization of reinforcement from a behavioral economic demand perspective. Demand analyses provide a multidimensional view of reinforcement in which distinct behavioral mechanisms are measured that impact decision making and drug consumption. This review describes the state of research on behavioral economic demand as a common language for addiction science researchers across varied model systems and stages of a translational continuum. We first provide an overview of the theoretical concepts and procedures used to evaluate demand in animal and human models. The potential for demand to serve as a common language for diverse research groups in psychopharmacology and addiction science (e.g., those evaluating neurobehavioral outcomes, medications development, clinical practice) is then described. An overview is also provided of existing empirical studies that, while small in number, suggest good linguistic and conceptual overlap between animal and human demand models when studying biological, environmental, and pharmacological individual difference vulnerabilities underlying drug-taking behavior. Refinement of methodological procedures and incorporation of more nuanced environmental features should help improve correspondence between animal and human demand studies as well as clinical translation of such findings. Our hope is that this review and commentary ultimately serves as inspiration for new collaborative efforts involving behavioral economic demand between animal and human researchers who share a common goal of improving substance use treatment outcomes and broader psychological wellbeing. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin C. Strickland
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 5510 Nathan Shock Drive, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Ryan T. Lacy
- Department of Psychology, Franklin & Marshall College, P.O. Box 3003, Lancaster, PA 17604, USA
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